Husum Fair Joins Esports Association Schleswig-Holstein in Time for Nordish Gaming Convention

A month before the Nordish Gaming Convention starts there, Messe Husum & Congress joins the E-Sport-Verband Schleswig-Holstein. Both are reinforcing the esports structure of the German North this way - not entirely without thinking about the problems in Federal level politics.

In advance of the Nordish Gaming Convention (NGC) at the Messe Husum & Congress (Husum Fair) from 23 to 26 May, the fair is joining the Esports Association Schleswig-Holstein (E-Sport-Verband Schleswig-Holstein, EVSH).

For Phillip Ebben, 1st Chairman of the association, this is a logical step: “The Nordish Gaming Convention is an absolute cornerstone of the Schleswig-Holstein e-sports and gaming scene. We are delighted that Messe Husum & Congress, the organiser of the NGC, has now joined the Schleswig-Holstein e-sports association. Scandinavian way of life, low-threshold politics, comparatively uncomplicated bureaucracy, many volunteers. For us as an association, this means that we are not only active at grassroots level, but also in politics, in traditional sport and with business representatives.”

Steffen Seemann, Commercial Director of Messe Husum & Congress, was responsible for the company joining the EVSH and agrees with the association's goal of promoting e-sports in the state: “E-sports and digitalisation go hand in hand. Accordingly, we want to give more weight to e-sports and also support Schleswig-Holstein's pioneering role in this area as an event venue on the west coast.”

The NGC will be held at the NordseeCongressCentrum, which is part of the exhibition centre at Husum. The four-day fair has first been held in 2014 and will this year consist of a LAN party, meetup spaces, exhibition floors and several tournaments.

In preparation of the event and probably in reaction to minor protection concerns the Family Ministry had raised in connection to esports, the EVSH is taking an explanatory stance towards the public what esport is for them. Jan Bornemann, part of the Board at the association, explains: “The prerequisite for a competition in e-sports is that the starting position of both teams is truly equal. Teams or players are not allowed to gain any advantages through microtransactions, i.e. they are not allowed to purchase in-game items, such as a more powerful weapon or armour, for real money. This would contradict the competitive nature of an e-sports title. However, the individual games can have very different requirements and then represent different disciplines of e-sports. A distinction is made between strategy games called real-time strategy (RTS) or multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). There are also first-person shooters, known as first-person shooters (FPS), as well as sports and simulation games.”